Femi Solaja with agency report
Rivers United will face ABS FC in a rescheduled Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) game this afternoon in Port Harcourt.
United have underwhelmed this season and need a win against the newly-promoted side to get their campaign back on track.
ABS FC come into the game on the back of a 0-2 reverse to Abia Warriors in Umuahia last Sunday and will be looking to bounce back with a positive result in Port Harcourt.
Technical adviser of ABS, Henry Makinwa knows there is a need to produce a positive response particularly as ABS have yet to win in their last five NPFL matches.
“My expectations are that we are going to win; we want to win.
“Our ambition is to win all games if it’s possible.
“Tomorrow (Thursday) is one of the games and we are going to give our best to win the game,” he told the club’s official website, www.riversunitedfc.
United are also desperate for a win and Technical Manager, Stanley Eguma, is eager to see his side return to winning ways against plucky opposition.
“We are really preparing for the game (against ABS because) at this stage we need good results.
“We need to win, especially at home; our position on the log is low and we really need to get these three points to start moving up.
“I know ABS is a very strong, young and energetic team; they have a lot of youthful players and can cause an upset on Thursday.
“We have to work very hard and not take them for granted.
“We have to work hard, put our acts together and secure all three points against ABS; that’s our mission now,” Eguma said.
Meanwhile, there is happier news from the infirmary for Rivers United as right back Chigozie Ihunda is nearing a return to action following a long-term injury.
Ihunda injured his left knee in United’s 1-0 win over Warri Wolves in an NPFL game decided at the Warri City Stadium on May 8, 2016.
The versatile footballer subsequently underwent keyhole and open surgeries in Delhi, India, on December 26, 2016 to repair the damage.
He was given a timeline of six months for return to active competition and his recovery is already ahead of schedule, according to Head of the Rivers United FC medical unit, Dr Chukwuemeka Agi.
“Ihunda has been undergoing physiotherapy and is already walking without the aid of crutches.
“We expect him to be back in action by June this year but it could be earlier depending on how things progress,” he said.
